LONDON: UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson returned on Friday from an overseas tour to face multiple crises, including the latest resignation of a senior Conservative from his scandal-hit government.

The embattled leader found his ruling Tories mired in another controversy about sexual impropriety shortly after he landed back in Bri­tain from Nato summit.

In a letter to Johnson, Conser­vative MP Chris Pincher announced he was quitting as deputy chief whip after admitting he drank “far too much” and “embarrassed myself and other people” late on Wednesday.

Reports said he had been accused of groping two men in front of others at the exclusive Carlton Club in London, prompting complaints to the Conservatives.

His departure from its whips’ office — charged with enforcing party discipline and standards — marks the latest allegation of sexual misconduct by Tories.

Conservative MP Neil Parish resigned in April after watching pornography on his mobile phone in the House of Commons. That prompted a by-election in his previously safe seat which the party went on to lose in a historic victory for the opposition Liberal Democrats.

Johnson himself has been embro­iled in various scandals, including the so-called “Partygate” affair that led his own lawmakers to trigger a no-confidence vote in him in early June that he narrowly survived.

The 58-year-old premier still faces a parliamentary probe into whether he lied to MPs over the lockdown-breaching parties in Downing Street.

The controversies come with Britain battling a worsening cost-of-living crisis and a summer of strikes by various unions over wages and working conditions.

Meanwhile, the country continues to struggle to adapt to Brexit and is risking a possible trade war with the European Union by unilaterally overhauling the special deal it agreed with the bloc for Northern Ireland.

The Financial Times reported on Friday that Britain’s trade performance this year has fallen to its worst level since records began, adding to the pound’s recent slide.

A growing chorus of critics argue Johnson’s government is too distracted by its own woes to focus on these mounting challenges.

Published in Dawn, July 2nd, 2022

Opinion

Editorial

Election uncertainty
Updated 27 May, 2023

Election uncertainty

All political actors must call a ceasefire and agree to hold polls on time.
Poorer nation
Updated 27 May, 2023

Poorer nation

The citizenry has been left decidedly poorer by this government’s mismanagement.
Subdued Games
27 May, 2023

Subdued Games

THE National Games are supposed to be a quadrennial celebration of Pakistan’s top athletes who showcase their...
Smoke and mirrors
Updated 27 May, 2023

Smoke and mirrors

Why did the PTI government allow the individual from whom the money had been forfeited to benefit from its return?
Spending spree
26 May, 2023

Spending spree

THERE can be little argument with the fact that Pakistan’s economy is in dire straits; as most economists of ...
Killer heat
26 May, 2023

Killer heat

AS temperatures soar faster and furiously, meteorologists conclude that extended hot spells will hit every year....